On the first foreign trip by an Iraqi official since the start of war, Foreign Minister Naji Sabri insisted on Sunday that Iraq would not surrender easily and accused Arab countries assisting the US-led coalition of "stabbing t he Iraqi people in the back."
Arriving in Cairo for the regular biannual meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, Sabri said he wanted a "unified stance from the Arabs. To condemn this occupation, to stop the war immediately and withdraw the invaders."
Going in to a one-on-one session with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Sabri told reporters he also wanted Monday's meeting to "condemn those who are providing facilities and are contributing to stabbing the Iraqi people in the back."
Meanwhile, Kuwait - one of several Arab states that have allowed coalition forces in - sent its own urgent request to the Arab League asking that Iraqi attacks on it be added to tomorrow's agenda. Iraq has fired several missiles over its southern border toward US troops and Kuwait City since the start of the US-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein last week.
Arab government alliances with the United States have made Arab solidarity unattainable when it comes to Iraq, despite widespread popular opposition to the war. There have been often violent anti-war and anti-US Protests across the Mideast, including in Cairo, where huge crowds turned on riot police Friday and on Saturday in the downtown square where the Arab League headquarters is located.
{{/usCountry}}Arab government alliances with the United States have made Arab solidarity unattainable when it comes to Iraq, despite widespread popular opposition to the war. There have been often violent anti-war and anti-US Protests across the Mideast, including in Cairo, where huge crowds turned on riot police Friday and on Saturday in the downtown square where the Arab League headquarters is located.
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